Dreams That Haunt
by SCLizzy
Summary: Sydney was brainwashed but thanks to Project Christmas she is slowly remembering who she really is. Things get more complicated when she comes face to face with Vaughn. Chapter 18 up. Please Read and Review. (SV)
1. Prelude

Dreams That Haunt: Prelude  
  
"Don't come any closer!" she yelled. Her hands where shaking and she felt that at any moment now she would drop her gun, her only defense against the man that had haunted her dreams for the longest time. It had been three months since she had been working for the covenant and ever since then she dreamt of him every night. She dreamt of his face, of his touch, of his voice and of his eyes, those piercing green eyes that haunted her every minute of every day. She looked around the dark alley he had followed her to. She was cornered at the wall that was at the end of the alley wearing uncomfortable leather pants, high heal boots and a red halter top. The alley was dark, the only light illuminating the place was from the lights of the club across the street. He was standing a few feet away from her. The brick wall felt cold against her warm almost bare back and she felt chills go up and down her spine.  
  
"Listen to me, I'm here for you, I won't hurt you, I promise Syd." the handsome man kept telling her. She couldn't help noticing how handsome he was, his green eyes were captivating and mesmerizing. She had dreamt of those eyes for the longest time. In her dreams he would hold her tightly and look deep into her eyes and he would whisper to her ear "I love you." It was then that she felt safest, even though it was only a dream the memory of that dream filled her with joy. For a long time he had been her secret obsession. She would daydream about him whenever she wasn't in a mission.  
  
"I told you my name is Julia!" she said, her voice shaky. She had always been able to control her emotions but now that control was failing her. When the covenant had asked her to kill the nameless man as proof of her loyalty to then, she had done it, no questions asked. She had wanted to cry when the covenant man sitting at the table had ordered her to kill the nameless man. She knew she was a contract killer but she couldn't help feeling an immense sadness for the poor man who was tied to that chair that man that she was about to kill. Even though she was a new member to the covenant she knew that they were dangerous and her gut instinct told her that they weren't to be messed with. She knew that if she didn't comply with their orders she would be killed and so would he. It was either her life or both their deaths and she sadly chose herself. Even in that moment of despair after killing the nameless man she had controlled her emotions and hadn't lost control of herself. But she couldn't control her emotions now, she felt like she was being pulled into a million different directions. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him. Who was he? Why did she dream of him? Who was Syd? Why did she have strange memories about people she had never met? Why did she feel like something was being kept from her, a truth that she couldn't imagine?  
  
"Please, give me a chance to explain. Syd, I mean Julia please put your gun down" he said. "Syd... Julia, don't make me hurt you, there are things I need to explain."  
  
"Just go, I don't need or want your explanations!" she said tears forming in her eyes. She hoped that he couldn't see them.  
  
"Your hair looks different, but you look the same. A little more tired maybe, but you look the same." He said extending his arm toward her gun. He put his hand on top of her gun and pushed her arm down. "You're still as beautiful as I remember." he said walking closer to her until his body was right against hers. He looked into her eyes as if to give her time to push him away before he kissed her. She couldn't push him away, she wanted him to kiss her, every cell in her body ached for that kiss. She closed her eyes and tears streamed down her face.  
  
"I've missed you more than you can imagine." he whispered as he put his hand on her neck and pulled her face closer to his until their lips were next to each other. He kissed her slowly but passionately and she kissed him back. She still held her gun with her right hand but she put her left arm around his neck and gave into the kiss. As enticing as the kiss was she knew that if the covenant found out about this they would kill them both. She used her left arm to push him away.  
  
"Walk away now or I'll shoot you right between your eyes. Don't force me to kill you." She said holding her gun upright. "Slowly walk away" she said as she cocked her gun. The man began to step back never taking his eyes off of her. "Put your hands in the air!" she yelled. He put his hands in the air and slowly kept walking backwards.  
  
"I love you." he said.  
  
"I know." Julia answered and with those words she pulled the trigger. 


	2. Dinner with Brian

Chapter Two: Dinner with Brian  
  
One weeks earlier:  
  
Julia lied in a white lawn chair facing the beautiful site of the Acapulco beach. She wore a black two piece bikini and waited patiently for her contact to arrive while she drank a large margarita. She had dark sunglasses and decided to take a short nap while she waited. She put her margarita down and closed her eyes while letting sun wrap her body in warmth.   
  
"This isn't working." he said. "I can't sleep at night. All I want to do is kiss you." She smiled at him and he smiled back. She was filled with hope, hope that one day they would be together. The walls changed and she was no longer in the gray room but now she was in a kitchen. He was kissing her whispering in her ear. "You're so beautiful."   
  
"Dinner's ready." she replied. "We can reheat." he whispered to her. They kissed each other with passion. She felt safe, she felt happy and now she was lying in bed with the man she loved. "How come you never call me.... Julia"  
  
"Julia."the man said with a British accent, waking her from her sweet dreams."Have you been waiting long."  
  
"Not long enough." she whispered to herself as she picked up her margarita and drank from it, cursing him for having interrupted her dream. "For a moment there I thought you might not show up." she said to him.   
  
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is Brian Belden." he said extending his arm. The man was young, with dark black hair and blue eyes, quite good looking in Julia's opinion.  
  
"Julia Thorne." she said taking his hand.   
  
"You're truly more beautiful than I imagined." Brian said taking a seat in the lawn chair next to hers.  
  
"Business Mr. Belden. You have information I need." she said taking off her sunglasses.   
  
"Yes, right, the information and if you don't mind please call me Brian. About the information the man you're looking for is an American, he's a professor at a community college in Los Angeles. His name is David Smith. All his information is here." he said handing her a file.   
  
"Thank you." she said taking the file. She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. "I have the information." she said, she then closed her cell phone and turned to Brian. "You're payment has been taken care of... Brian"  
  
"Yes, I appreciate it. Now, would you care to have dinner with me?" he asked.  
  
"I don't mix business with pleasure." she replied smiling.  
  
"But you do eat don't you?" he asked. "Eight o'clock tonight, be ready." he stood up and left. Julia smiled to herself, she found Brian to be intriguing but she didn't trust him.   
  
Later that night Julia was in her hotel room. She put on an elegant black dress and curled her blonde hair. At eight o'clock on the dot Brian arrived looking terribly handsome. He knocked on the door and when Julia opened it, he stood there with roses in his hands.   
  
"Julia, you look absolutely magnificent." Brian said handing her the roses. "For you my lady."  
  
"Thank you." Julia replied. She put the roses on a vase next to her bed and walked out of the room with her purse. They went into the elevator and headed to the lobby floor where the restaurant was. The restaurant had tasteful decor and had a romantic feel to it. They were seated in one of the best tables, courtesy of Brian's extra tip to the waiter. Brian and Julia sat across from each other.  
  
"Julia, your face looks gorgeous in candlelight." he said to her. Julia felt wonderfully happy, she almost felt like a normal person on a date rather than a covenant agent having dinner with a man she knew was not trustworthy, however good looking her may be.  
  
"Thank you Brian. I must say you clean up well." she replied. The waiter brought them a bottle of red wine and took their orders. After the food arrived Julia and Brian had a wonderful time talking about all things that weren't related to their jobs. After they finished eating Brian accompanied Julia back to her room.  
  
"I had a lovely time Brian. Thank you." she said as she stood next to her door.   
  
"Julia the pleasure was truly all mine. You are an extraordinary woman, and I find myself very attracted to you." he said. He closed the space between their bodies and slowly kissed her. She did not object at first. As he kissed her she suddenly saw the face of the man she dreamt of. She could see him so clearly it was almost as if he was there. Brian pushed her to the door. She knew that he wanted to go into her room. She lightly pushed him away from her. "Good night Brian." she said. She entered her room and shut the door. Brian simply left, disappointed that the night had ended so quickly.  
  
Back in her room Julia began crying softly in her bed. She had seen his face, it was so real but she knew it was just an illusion. She missed him so much, yet she had no idea who he was. All she knew was that somewhere there was a man who loved her and that thought filled her with joy that perhaps someday she would have the normal life she dreamt of. She put on her nightgown and went to bed knowing that in a few minutes she and her prince charming would be together again. 


	3. Sydney

"Honey, how are you?" a man with white hair and a strong presence asked. He looked very professional, wearing a suit and tie. His face was round and serious but even though he lacked a smile she felt his love.  
  
"I'm feeling okay. Thanks for coming." she said. She felt as though she knew this man, as though she had known him all of her life.  
  
"Sweetheart, I was thinking that maybe we could have dinner tonight." he asked.  
  
"I'd love that. Do you want to eat at my place? I could cook us something." she offered.  
  
"That sounds wonderful. I'll go to your apartment at seven. I'll see you then." he said as he walked away.  
  
"Bye." she said as she sat back down in her desk. She saw a short man with a great smile walk by her. "Marshall how have you been?"  
  
"Uh good. Thanks how are you feeling, not that you should be feeling bad, cause you can feel good but if you were, uh, you could tell me, feeling bad I mean, not that you have to, but in case you wanted to, talk to me I mean, well I'm here." he nervously said.  
  
"Thanks Marshall, I'm okay. Where's Dixon?" she asked.  
  
"Excuse me, ma'am, we're about to land." the woman sitting next to her said. She had fallen asleep during the flight to Los Angeles and now they were about to land in the LAX.  
  
"Thank you." Julia said to the woman sitting next to her. The woman was older, most likely in her mid fifties. The woman smiled at her. "You're welcome dear. Have you been to Los Angeles before?"  
  
"No, this is my first time here. I'm here on business." Julia replied.  
  
"That's nice, I'm here to visit my daughter. She's lived here with her husband for almost ten years. You'll love LA." the woman said.  
  
"Thank you. I have a feeling that LA is going be eventful." she said. The woman stood up and said goodbye. Sydney left the plane and picked up her luggage, a small suitcase that held some clothes, and things that might come in handy like wigs and color contacts in case she needed to go into an alias.  
  
She took a cab to a warehouse where she met with her weapons supplier. He gave her keys to a car, guns and money for the hotel. She got into the black Pontiac and drove to the Hilton Hotel. She felt at home in LA. She didn't have to look at the map once, she knew the streets like the back of her hand. It made her wonder why it was that she knew a place so well if she had never been there. A lot of things were strange, she knew things about herself but she didn't have any vivid memories like the dreams she had had lately. She dreamt of people she didn't know, people she had never met. Even so she felt strongly for these people.  
  
She checked into a room and took her suitcase up with her. She opened the file of David Smith. Julia wrote down the address of the college and the classroom where he would be. She changed from her suit into jeans and a t- shirt. She didn't want to stand out too much at the college. She put her gun in her purse and headed out the door.  
  
When she arrived to the college it didn't take her long to find the classroom. It was room 112A. She walked in, David Smith still lecturing his students. David Smith was an older man, he seemed like a strong man. He had gray short hair and blue eyes. He was teaching Spanish. Fifteen minutes after Julia entered he dismissed the class. When all the students left she approached David who was now putting his papers away.  
  
"Did you have a question?" he asked her.  
  
"As a matter of fact I do." Julia replied. "I'm looking for the map that will lead me to the last Rambaldi key."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." he replied nervously. He picked up his things and tried to leave but before he could Julia pulled her gun out of her purse and pressed it on his neck.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me. I know you know. If you don't tell me I'll put a bullet through you head. You don't want me to do that now do you?" she said.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you, but please don't kill me. I have a family, a wife and two kids, please." he begged.  
  
"Tell me now, I don't have much patience!" she yelled.  
  
"Alright, the map you're looking for belongs to a man named James Bohary. He wears it at all times. It's a small crystal disk, he has it around his neck. That's all I know. I swear!" he cried.  
  
"Don't worry professor the information you just gave me saved you life." Julia said. She hit the back of the professor's neck with the butt of her gun. He was knocked out cold. She put her gun away and as she was heading for the door, a man entered. A man with the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen.  
  
"Sydney." the man said. 


	4. The Meeting

Chapter Four: The Meeting  
  
"Sydney" he said. His eyes were wide open, starring at her in disbelief. Julia felt her heart beat faster. The man of her dreams was here, in the flesh, standing in front of her. There was so much she wanted to say but she didn't know where to start.  
  
"You're alive." he said, his words almost a whisper. He ran to her and held her. His embrace felt like home to her. She was overwhelmed with emotions and she started crying. He held her tightly as if he was afraid that she would disappear. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  
  
She picked up her head and looked at him. His eyes were filled with tears as were hers. "Sydney, where have you been?" he asked.  
  
"My name is Julia Thorne." Julia replied. She didn't understand why he called her Sydney. Perhaps he had confused her with someone else.  
  
"What?" he asked. He looked behind her and noticed the professor lying unconscious on the ground. "What happened to him? What were you doing here? Sydney what's going on?"  
  
"I, I, uh, I... I can't." she said and she ran out.  
  
"Sydney! Wait!" he yelled after her. He ran out and tried to catch up to her but was slowed down by the many students heading his way. He watched her turn the corner and then lost her. He sat down on the floor with his back against the wall. Although he was angry at himself for having lost her, he was happy beyond belief. He knew that she was alive, there was no doubt about it now. He had held her in his arms and he had felt complete. The love of his life had returned to him. For six months he had fallen into the deepest depression of his entire life. He had lost the desire to live. He had imagined that she was alive and now it was real, it was no longer some drunken illusion, it was a reality. It was a reality that filled him with hope and the desire to live once again. Even though his depression was over and he had gotten his life in order his desire to live had left him. Seeing her again had given him hope again. He now had a purpose to get up every morning.  
  
'What was she doing here?' he asked himself. 'Whatever it was David had to know.' He stood up and walked back to the classroom. By the time he got there David was conscious again.  
  
"David, what happened?" he asked.  
  
"Michael, that woman attacked me." David answered.  
  
"I don't buy it, she was after something. You have to tell me what it was." he said.  
  
"Michael, she was after nothing." David answered.  
  
"Listen to me David, I have connections in high places. I know people who would be willing to kill you for whatever information you may or may not have on that woman. Tell me what she was after or you will regret it. I promise." he threatened.  
  
Julia sat in her car for over two hours waiting to see where the man she had seen earlier lived. She needed to know who he was and who Sydney was but for that she needed more information than the simple name of Sydney. She looked around the almost empty campus. It was seven and most classes where over. She closed her eyes and remembered being in the man's arms. His touch had sent electricity all through her body.  
  
When she opened her eyes she saw him. He opened the door to his car and drove away. Julia turned on her car and followed him at a safe distance. She blended into the traffic of the LA roads so it was unlikely that he would realize that she was following him. He drove into a residential area where he parked and walked into an apartment.  
  
Michael walked into his apartment feeling exhausted and eternally happy.  
  
"Surprise!" Lauren said.  
  
"Lauren, what are you doing here, how did you get in?" Michael asked. Lauren was the last person he wanted to see right now. He had just found out that the love of his life was alive and he didn't how he should go about this information. He didn't want to endanger Sydney's life by telling anyone. For now he would pretend like nothing was wrong but he knew that he wouldn't be with Lauren for long.  
  
"Michael, it's our two month anniversary. I wanted to surprise you. I asked your landlord to let me in, I told him it was for our anniversary. I'm sorry if I upset you love." Lauren said.  
  
"I was just caught off guard. Happy anniversary." he said forcing a smile.  
  
"Come on love I have the day all planned out for us." Lauren said. She took his arm and they went outside arm in arm. He opened the door for her and she kissed him. He smiled at her, a smile that he had to force. He felt as though he was betraying Sydney. She was alive and well and he was with Lauren. Lauren was a good woman and she had helped him get his life back in track but he didn't love her.  
  
When Julia saw him leave with the blonde, her heart broke. They must be married, she thought or at least they were living together. She knew that she had no reason to be angry with him. She didn't even know him but she couldn't help feeling like she had lost someone. She had secretly dreamt of finding this man and being with him like normal people were together, like he and his blonde were together. She suddenly had no desire to find out he was. It wasn't worth it, any information that she could find wouldn't her, it would only haunt her and that was something she didn't need now. She turned on her car and drove back to the hotel. She had a lot of work to do. She needed to come up with a plan. 


	5. Don't Look Back

AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to update I can't use the internet in my room because of a virus  
  
so I have to use the one at work.   
  
Chapter Five:  
  
Julia put on her red wig and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing tight leather pants  
  
and a red halter top. She was heading to The Roxy a popular club in LA. It turned out that  
  
James Bohary was with his bodyguards at all times except when he went out on dates. Tonight  
  
he was taking a twenty-year old girl to the club, a girl ten years his junior. She took the elevator  
  
six floors down to the lobby feeling confident and beautiful. She walked to her car and grabbed  
  
the attention of the men walking into the hotel a clear sign that her outfit was serving its purpose.   
  
Once she was in the club she looked around trying to spot James Bohary. So far she hadn't seen  
  
him. Meanwhile she drank a beer and thought about the past few days. It had been two days  
  
since she had seen the mysterious man of her dreams. After seeing him with the woman she had  
  
erased him from her memory. She had kept herself occupied at all times leaving herself no time  
  
to think about him. Her dreams however, weren't as easy to control as her thoughts. He still  
  
haunted her dreams and although they were sweet dreams they were haunting for her because it  
  
was a reminder of what she could not have. She looked around and a couple suddenly caught her  
  
attention. She saw a young woman dancing with the man she had studied for the past few days,  
  
James Bohary. He was wearing the small crystal disk around his neck. She put down her beer  
  
and turned to the man next to her. He had been looking at her for the past fifteen minutes.   
  
"You wanna dance?" she asked him with a flirtatious smile. He smiled back and got up. She  
  
took him by the hand and walked right next to Bohary. She danced provocatively and caught his  
  
attention. She smiled at him and signaled for him to meet her in the bathroom.   
  
"I gotta go use the little girl's room." she said to the man she was dancing with.  
  
"Okay." he said. She walked away and Bohary followed. She stopped outside of the bathroom  
  
and Bohary caught up to her and began kissing her. She opened the door to the bathroom and  
  
walked in still being kissed by Bohary. He began kissing her neck and she pulled her gun out of  
  
her purse. She hit him on the back of his neck and he passed out. Julia took the crystal disk and  
  
put it her pocket. She placed her gun back into her purse and walked out of the bathroom.   
  
She walked past the people dancing and suddenly somewhat took hold of her by her arm. She  
  
turned around and saw him. He was wearing a leather jacket something that she figured he didn't  
  
usually wear.   
  
"Sydney." he said. He seemed more put together than the last time she had seen him. Tonight he  
  
didn't seem shocked and surprised to see her, it seemed like he had anticipated her presence at the  
  
club. She couldn't deny that she felt a powerful connection to this man but she couldn't let her  
  
feelings overpower her. She pushed him away and ran. She ran down the street and took of her  
  
wig, throwing it into a trashcan she passed by. She looked behind her and saw him running after  
  
her. He wasn't far behind, she turned to what she thought was a through street but instead it was  
  
a dead end.   
  
She turned around and saw him. "Don't come any closer!" she yelled.  
  
"Listen to me, I'm here for you, I won't hurt you, I promise Syd." the handsome man kept telling  
  
her.  
  
"I told you my name is Julia!" she said, her voice shaky.  
  
"Please, give me a chance to explain. Syd, I mean Julia please put your gun down" he said.  
  
"Syd... Julia, don't make me hurt you, there are things I need to explain."  
  
"Just go, I don't need or want your explanations!" she said tears forming in her eyes. She hoped  
  
that he couldn't see them.  
  
"Your hair looks different, but you look the same. A little more tired maybe, but you look the  
  
same." He said extending his arm toward her gun. He put his hand on top of her gun and pushed  
  
her arm down. "You're still as beautiful as I remember." he said walking closer to her until his  
  
body was right against hers. He looked into her eyes as if to give her time to push him away  
  
before he kissed her. She couldn't push him away, she wanted him to kiss her, every cell in her  
  
body ached for that kiss. She closed her eyes and tears streamed down her face.  
  
"I've missed you more than you can imagine." he whispered as he put his hand on her neck and  
  
pulled her face closer to his until their lips were next to each other. He kissed her slowly but  
  
passionately and she kissed him back. She still held her gun with her right hand but she put her  
  
left arm around his neck and gave into the kiss. As enticing as the kiss was she knew that if the  
  
covenant found out about this they would kill them both. She used her left arm to push him away.  
  
She heard a noise and looked behind the man that had just kissed her, she noticed Bohary trying  
  
to sneak up on them. He had his gun pointed towards them.  
  
"Walk away now or I'll shoot you right between your eyes. Don't force me to kill you." She said  
  
holding her gun upright. "Slowly walk away" she said as she cocked her gun. The man began to  
  
step back never taking his eyes off of her. "Put your hands in the air!" she yelled. He put his  
  
hands in the air and slowly kept walking backwards, Bohary right behind him kept his gun aimed  
  
at Julia.   
  
"I love you." he said. Julia took a moment to look at him. "I know." Julia answered. She looked  
  
back at Bohary and with those words she pulled the trigger.  
  
Bohary dropped his gun and fell to the ground. Julia had shot him right between the eyes.   
  
Julia looked at the man standing in front of her. He was looking at Bohary and still had his hands  
  
in the air. Julia quickly hit him in the back of his neck with the handle of her gun. He fell to the  
  
ground unconscious and Julia walked away never looking back. 


	6. Joey's Pizza

Chapter Six: Joey's Pizza

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not Alias or its characters, just a ham sandwich and a soda, but no one cares.

AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I went back home for the summer and the computer at home doesn't really work. But I'm back now and my computer is virus free so I will be able to finish the story soon. Please Read and Review. Thanks and now ch 6....

As she drove back to the hotel she felt stranger than she had ever felt before. Her mind was a wreck. She didn't understand what was going on. She had been someone else, someone other than a cold blooded assassin working for the covenant. Her life had made sense then, it was a life she felt wasn't hers but it made sense to her. She had suffered great losses as a child and grew up to become a killer. The life they had given her made sense, but it never felt real. Now she was forced to question everything that she knew. She didn't love her life as Julia, but she understood it and even though it was a life full of danger, it was simple and it was hers. She knew now that it wasn't real. Or at least not completely real, Sydney, her name was. Was she really Sydney, or was she Julia, or perhaps she was both. Perhaps some part of Julia always existed within Sydney.

She felt a great sense of relief when she walked into her hotel room. She was so tired all she wanted to do was sleep. She fell into bed and closed her eyes trying to forget all the questions that ran through her head. It was in her sleep however that all her questions were answered. She dreamt of her life as Sydney, she suddenly knew who everyone was, she knew who Vaughn was. He was her soul-mate and she had left him. Not on purpose but still he had suffered.

When she woke up the next morning she felt so confused. She couldn't help feeling pain from the thought of Vaughn being with another woman. It had only been nine months since her "death" but she couldn't help feeling angry that he had moved on so fast. Her life as Julia had been a betrayal to her life as Sydney. As Julia she had killed, she had done things she wasn't proud of. The questions of the night before suddenly re-surfaced and she couldn't help but wonder if Julia had always been a part of Sydney. If she had lived as Julia so easily it had to be because deep down she was Julia. Her anger towards all those who betrayed her and those who stood between the life she had and the life she wanted had helped her get through some dark times. It was her anger and her need for revenge that had kept her going. Perhaps Julia was a result of those betrayals, and those desires for revenge. Ever since the death of Danny she knew she was different. It wasn't until now that she realized how different she was. She realized that she had a dark side. Julia wasn't just the fabrication of the Covenant, she was also the result of all the pain that Sydney had endured.

She needed to come up with a plan. If the Covenant found out that she was no longer under their control she would be putting the lives of everyone she loved in danger. She needed to take care of this. First thing being Vaughn, his knowledge put him in great danger. He wouldn't give up on her, he wouldn't just leave it alone, she knew he had to do something about it. She picked up her phone and dialed his number, a number she knew by memory. It rang twice before he answered the phone.

"Hello." Vaughn answered.

"Joey's Pizza." She replied with an accent.

"Wrong number." He said after a moment.

She arrived at the warehouse where they had met so many times before. He was already there, always on time, he was wearing a gray suit. It felt so comfortable, it felt so familiar, it was just the way it had been years ago.

"Julia." He said with hesitation.

"Vaughn, it's alright." She answered.

"You remember then?" he asked.

"Yes, I do. Last night when I got back to my hotel room, I fell asleep. It was while I was dreaming that I began to remember everything. I had been remembering things for the past few months, nothing concrete enough to make me believe it was anything more than a dream. It was your face, I dreamt of you many times but I didn't know who you were, when I saw you the other day I realized that it was much more than just dreams. I'm sorry about hitting you." She said.

"What happened? Syd, you died." He said, his eyes pleading with her for answers.

"I was kidnapped after the fight with Allison. They made me watch while you threw my ashes at sea. They spent weeks torturing me trying to break me down until finally I cracked. They brainwashed me into believing that I was Julia Thorne. I've been living my life as Julia since then." She answered. Vaughn walked towards her slowly and then hugged her when he came close enough to her.

"I missed you so much. I thought you were dead. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that." He said to her still holding her tightly. She began to cry, she felt sad and angry for what was done to her, for having been separated from those she loved.

"Vaughn." She said pushing him away. "You can't tell anyone about this. No one must know that I'm alive."

"Why not?' he asked with a look of shock on his face.

"Because Vaughn, if the Covenant found out I was no longer in their control they would use other methods. They would use you and everyone I care about to get to me. I can't let that happen Vaughn. I need to take care of this myself. I have a plan but I need you to go back to normal. Don't do anything out of the ordinary, anything that could give me away. That means that you and your girlfriend need to keep things the same way." She said. Vaughn looked surprised, he didn't think that she knew about her.

"Lauren." He said quietly. "I'm so sorry Syd. I need you to know that I love you, Lauren was just a way for me to try to move on. She means nothing to me. I spent six months grieving, losing myself. I thought I was going to die Syd. I needed to try to get my life back together. I'm sorry you had to find out about her." He said.

"I can't say that I understand Vaughn. It hurts me to know that you're with her. When Danny died, I grieved too, it took me a long time before I could see other people, but I don't blame you. You thought I was dead, and in many ways I was dead." She said to him.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She replied. "I have to go now, but please promise me that you won't do anything, just pretend like this never happened."

"I can't do that Sydney." He said. "I can't pretend like I don't' love you, I can't pretend that you're not here. I need you Syd, I need to be close to you. I need to see you everyday, I need to hear you. You have no idea what it feels like to have you back again, it's like being reborn, like feeling happiness for the first time ever. Don't ask me to do this, because I can't." he said. He walked closer to her and kissed her passionately. She didn't push him away or hesitate, she just gave into the kiss.

"You have to." She said when they finally stopped kissing.

"What are you going to do?" he asked kissing her in between words.

"I'm going to take care of it, I'm going to bring them down from the inside." She responded.

"It's too dangerous Syd, plus it will take a really long time. Maybe even longer than it took us to bring SD-6 and the alliance down." He said.

"I know, will you wait for me Vaughn?" She asked.

"All my life. But I want to help you. Please let me help you." He said kissing her once again.

"I have to go." She said breaking their kiss. "I'll contact you as soon as I can." She began walking away when he called out to her.

"Syd wait." He grabbed her arm and kissed her once again. "Don't forget, I love you."

"I love you too." She said leaving. She loved him and being with him gave her a renewed sense of confidence. She knew that he wouldn't let her go this easily. He too had something up his sleeve, but it was nothing compared to what she had planned.


	7. A New Ally, An Old Enemy and Vaughn

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Alias or its characters.  
  
AN: Here's another update, hope you guys like it. I appreciate everyone who has reviewed, and anyone else that wants to review is welcome to do it. I really like the feedback. And now chapter seven.....  
  
"I need to speak to Kendell." Sydney demanded over the phone.  
  
"Kendell here." Kendell answered after a moment.  
  
"Kendell it's Sydney!" Sydney exclaimed.  
  
"Sydney, it can't be." a shocked Kendell answered.  
  
"Kendell listen to me, all you need to know right now is that the Covenant had me. We need to meet, in Rome. Two days from now. That's all I can say right now. I'll call you later with more details. I have to go." she said hanging up the phone. Back in his office Kendell sat in shock. He couldn't believe that Sydney Bristow was alive. Her voice was the same he was sure of it.  
  
Meanwhile Sydney called Vaughn's house to arrange another meeting. Sydney had in her possession a syrum that would help with memory modification. Her plan had been to make Vaughn forget that she was alive. It was painful to think about it but Sydney knew that Vaughn would get in her way, he wouldn't agree with some of the things she had to do and she had to keep him away, safe even if it meant losing him again.  
  
"Hello." a female voice with a British accent answered. "Hello? Is anybody there? Hello?"  
Sydney hung up, a look of shock in her face. She recognized that voice. Not as someone she knew before she was taken or someone she knew as Julia. It was during those weeks of torture that she had heard that voice. It was so clear in her mind. This new information meant that her plans were about to change.  
  
She picked up the phone again, this time dialing Vaughn's cell phone.  
  
"Hello." he answered.  
  
"Joey's Pizza." she said.  
  
"Wrong number." he replied.  
  
An hour later Vaughn and Sydney met once again. Sydney was nervous, walking back and forth.  
  
"What is it Sydney?" Vaughn asked.  
  
"Vaughn, Lauren is working with the covenant." she said stopping in her tracks and looking right at him.  
  
"What?" he asked in shock. "What are you talking about, she's Senator Reed's daughter, that's impossible."  
  
"When they took me, they spent weeks breaking me down, torturing me. It was during that time that I met Lauren. Her hair was brown but it was her. Same height, same size, same face. I couldn't really look at her because everytime I looked up Oleg would beat me. But I caught a glimpse of her. I didn't recognize her at first because I only saw her for a moment. But I did hear her Vaughn. I heard her perfectly fine. She and Oleg were talking about her next assignment." Sydney looked up at him.  
  
"Me." he answered.  
  
"She didn't mention your name, she just said she would be keeping tabs on an ex-CIA agent. When I heard her voice this morning I realized that it was her. I started thinking back to that day when I first saw her, like I said it was only for a moment but I know its her. Are you living with her?" Sydney asked.  
  
"No!" he said. "She likes to come by my house a lot. She likes to surprise me and things like that. I never thought it was because she was keeping tabs on me. She's never asked me anything about my time in the CIA. I never thought she would betray me."  
  
"I'm sorry." Sydney said a bit uncomfortably.  
  
"I don't care about her, she was just a girl Eric wanted me to go out with. He said it would be good for me to get out there, so that I wouldn't think about you so much. I just feel so stupid I didn't catch on sooner." he responded.  
  
"Covenant agents are good, they're trained really well. They're very discreet, very professional. They don't have feelings, they just have orders. They're ruthless." she said quietly.  
  
"You speaking from experience?" he asked hesitating for a moment.  
  
"Vaughn, what I did as Julia, you have to know that's all I knew... I didn't remember you, or my life as Sydney. The things I did...."she began.  
  
"Sydney whatever you did, it wasn't you." Vaughn finished for her.  
  
"That's just it Vaughn, I don't know if it wasn't me. The things I did, I knew what I was doing. I didn't know who I was, I didn't have anyone to answer to but that's no excuse. I felt this freedom, having no rules, no boundaries. I did so many things that I'm not proud of but what scares me the most is that a lot of the time I didn't hesitate I didn't feel remorse. I'm so sorry."  
she cried.  
  
"Sydney, you were brainwashed into believing you were a killer. You were brainwashed so that you wouldn't feel remorse. It wasn't you." Vaughn said trying to reassure her.  
  
"I wish I could believe that. But I keep thinking that somewhere deep down I wanted to do the things I did, somewhere within me Julia has always existed. I always tried to convince myself that the things I saw, and the things that were done to me and the people I loved hadn't changed me, but I'm not so sure anymore."she said.  
  
"I know you Syd, I know you're a good person and although you feel angry and confused about everything that's happened, don't ever doubt that you are the best thing in my life. Whatever you did as Julia, it was out of your control, you were being controlled by someone else. And maybe you're right, maybe we all have a dark side, but what makes you extraordinary is that you don't let what's happened to you get the better of you." Vaughn said walking to Syd and hugging her.  
  
"When you go back home, act like nothing has happened. Keep track of where she goes and when she goes. Try to go to her house, look for things that can give us information about the covenant and whatever you do be careful." she said kissing him.  
  
"I will." he said.  
  
"I have to go. I'm going to meet Kendell in two days. I'll tell him everything he needs to know except for your involvement. They wouldn't allow it. I need to ally myself with the CIA for now. They can be helpful to me. I'll keep you up to date. For now I don't know when I'll be able to come back, but I will come back. I love you." she said kissing him more passionately.  
  
"I love you too, I'll be waiting for you. Be careful." he said to her as she left. She turned around and smiled at him before leaving. 


	8. Secret Files of a Covenant Agent

Disclaimer: I don't own Alias or it's characters.

AN: Here's another update, the first half is really just to let you guys now what's been going on, but I left a nice little cliffhanger at the end. I hope you guys like it and let me know what you think....

Chapter 8

It had been three weeks since Vaughn had learned that Sydney was alive. Since then he and Sydney had kept in contact detailing operations and plans. Vaughn had set up a surveillance system in Lauren's apartment one night when she had left on business. Meanwhile Sydney had contracted three free-lancers to watch her every move. Every three days they would report back to Sydney or Vaughn what Lauren had been up to. Vaughn would watch the surveillance in the warehouse where he and Sydney used to meet. Kendell who still knew nothing about Vaughn's involvement would contact Sydney with counter-missions and things of that nature. In the past three weeks the CIA had learned more about the Covenant then they had in one years worth of surveillance combined.

Thinking about the past three weeks Vaughn walked around the mall never entering a store. He looked at his watch and walked towards a payphone where he began to dial a number he had memorized before Sydney left. The phone rang once and a woman in Rome answered.

"Is it safe?" Vaughn asked.

"_Yes, did you make sure you weren't followed?"_ Sydney responded on the other end.

"Yes, I'm clean." Vaughn responded.

"_The Covenant wants to find something called the Rambaldi cube. They have a location but they need twelve keys to open it. Bohary had the map to one of the keys, the Covenant has a total of eight keys in the possession. A free-lancer named Simon Walker will search for the remaining four keys, with my help." _Sydney explained.

"Wait, did you just say Walker?" Vaughn asked with worry.

"_Yes, have you heard of him?"_ Sydney asked.

"Yes, the week before I quit the CIA I saw agents looking through his profile. The CIA was trying to capture him, I read that profile. Syd, the man is dangerous. He has no loyalties, all he cares about is the money. He's dangerous Syd, and he doesn't trust anyone. Before working with someone he tests them, half the people he's supposed to work with die or go to jail before they even get to do the job they were supposed to do. You have to be really careful with this guy. He's suspicious of everyone and if he thinks you're up to something you might as well be dead. You can't take any chances with him." Vaughn told Sydney.

"_Vaughn, don't worry about it. I can take care of myself. If it makes you feel better, I'll be extra careful when I work with him." _Sydney reassured him.

"Thank you." Vaughn said feeling a bit more relieved.

"_I talked to the freelancers that are on Lauren, they reported seeing her contact one of her handler several times this past week. Something's going on, last week she only saw him once, this week she met with him three times and contacted him on the phone twice. I have an id on her handler his name is Zisman. He's not only her handler but he is the middleman of all operations concerning high-ranking covenant agents. Apparently only few agents can talk to the top players of the covenant, Zisman is one of them." _Sydney explained.

"What do you think is going on?" Vaughn asked.

"_I don't know that's why I needed to talk to you. One of the freelancers reported seeing Zisman give Lauren a briefcase, it's a black leather briefcase. She took that briefcase home and none of the freelancers reported seeing the briefcase again. It has to be in her apartment. I need you to look for it as soon as possible. I have a feeling something is going down, something big and I think she might be a part of it."_ Sydney told Vaughn.

"It doesn't make much sense, I doubt that she is high-ranking agent in the Covenant, she's not doing anything except keeping tabs on me." Vaughn said.

"_Maybe it's more than that, maybe we're missing something. I have to go, but as soon as you have news contact me."_ Sydney said.

"I love you." Vaughn said.

"_I love you too... be careful."_ She said hanging up the phone.

Vaughn went back to the warehouse where the surveillance was set up. He watched in the monitors as Lauren picked up a book and sat down to read.

"Come on, do something." He thought to himself. Lauren's phone began to ring and she put her book down and picked up the phone. Vaughn put on his headphones to hear what she was saying.

"Hello." She answered.

"When?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes, I'm clear on the operation." She said hanging up. She walked to her room and Vaughn watched as her image moved from one monitor to the next. When she got to her room she opened the closet door and pulled out a black leather briefcase. She opened the briefcase and took out three files and began to look through them. After ten minutes she put the files back and left the apartment. Vaughn saw the opportunity to see what was on those files and decided to head towards her apartment.

He drove as quickly as possible. Lauren's apartment was almost twenty minutes away. He picked up his cell phone and called Lauren's cell.

"Hello love." She answered.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Vaughn asked.

"I'm driving to the office as we speak." She said.

"I just called to see if you wanted to go out for dinner later tonight. What time will you be back?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Michael, I can't do dinner tonight. I have a lot of work to do and I think I won't be back until very late. How about we do it tomorrow night?" she asked sounding disappointed that they couldn't see each other tonight.

"Don't worry about it Lauren, we'll do something tomorrow night then." Vaughn said.

"I have to go love, I'll talk to you soon." She said.

"Bye." He said hanging up the phone. Vaughn now had confirmation that she wouldn't be back anytime soon, leaving him with time to spare to go into her apartment and make copies of the files she had. Vaughn parked a block away from Lauren's apartment. He walked to the familiar building and went into the building using the spare key he had made using one of Marshall's old gadgets. Of course Lauren had no idea that Vaughn had that spare key but it came in handy to him when he needed to break into her house without her noticing it. He walked into the small apartment carrying a small bag with him and headed towards her bedroom. He searched for the briefcase and found it immediately. He opened it and took out the files inside, there were six files, but he had clearly seen Lauren look through only three of them. He picked up the files and looked through them, one by one he realized what he was looking at.

The files weren't any ordinary files, they were orders to kill. He looked through them in shock realizing that Lauren was about to kill people he knew, people he cared about, people who he would give his life for. He opened the bag and took out a camera. He took pictures of each page in those files. His hands shook with anger and fear, fear that he might be too late to save the lives of his friends, his close friends. As he put the files back into the briefcase he realized that he was being watched. He turned around surprised to see Lauren standing at the entrance of the door watching him.

"Michael." she finally said.


	9. Revelations

Disclaimer: I don't own Alias or its characters.  
  
AN: Here's another update, I hope you guys like it. Please let me know what you think and thanks for reading. By the way I think you guys might like this new cliffhanger. Now chapter 9.....  
  
Dreams that Haunt: Revelations  
  
"Michael." Lauren said still standing by the door. "What are you doing?"  
  
Vaughn tried to calm himself down but it was no use. Seeing her, seeing the woman who had deceived him and planned to kill his friends was more than he could bear. "What the hell are you doing with these files?" he yelled at her as he threw the files at her. "Do you really think you can get away with this? These are good people, something you obviously know nothing about."  
  
"Don't give me that bull Michael! I have a job, just like yours. When you kill other agents do you sit around and wonder what the life of that man was? Whether he had a family, if someone was waiting for him at home? What makes your killing more heroic than mine? After all it's really a matter of opinion isn't it? It's very subjective don't you think? For you your cause is valid, it's the right one, well that's exactly the way it is for me." Lauren said to him, her voice losing the sweetness she feigned when he was around.  
  
"The difference is that you assassinate good people, you plan it, you carefully think it out! When I've killed I've done it in self-defense. You're a murderer! What you do ISN'T self-defense, it's murder! Don't compare yourself to me or the men and women in the CIA, because you are NOTHING like them! These are my friends Lauren! How could you pretend to care about me meanwhile planning the assassinations of my friends!" he said walking towards her. He grabbed her by the arms and began shaking her as he spoke.  
  
"LET ME GO!!" she yelled at him. She kicked him and managed to loosen one arm. She picked up the lamp that was sitting on the table next to her and hit him over the head with it. Vaughn fell to the floor and Lauren picked up the lamp and tried hitting him with it again but he managed to move before she had a chance. He grabbed her foot and she fell to the floor. Vaughn got up and picked her up pushing her towards a wall.  
  
"You are going to pay for everything, do you hear me!" he yelled at her. His voice was full of rage, he was fighting the desire to kill her every second that passed by.  
  
"What are you going to do Michael, are you going to kill me? Is this how noble you are, the good squeaky clean ex-CIA agent is going to kill me? You can't get away with it. I'M the SENATOR'S daughter, you'll be put to death in no time." she said to him regaining her cool.  
  
"You're a filthy murderous traitor and no one is going to care if I put a bullet through your head. Once everyone finds out who you are, it won't matter whose daughter you are. But I won't kill you, because unlike you I AM a good person. I'm going to make sure that you spend every single day of your life in a jail cell and you're going to wish I had killed you." Vaughn said to her, his face full of anger and hate.  
  
"It doesn't matter whether or not I'm dead, or in jail. If I don't finish those six CIA agents, someone else will. They'll never even know what hit them. Do you think it's done because you know who I work for? It's never done! The Covenant will get someone else but the job...will...be...done." she said to him, knowing that the idea of his friends dying would strike a nerve.  
  
"WHO!!!" he yelled at her. "Who will carry out those orders once your gone?"  
  
"I...don't...know." she said to him.  
  
"When? When were you supposed to carry out those orders?" he said. Lauren stayed quiet making him even angrier. "WHEN!!"  
  
"Marshall and Carrie are supposed to be first. I was waiting to receive confirmation tonight by six o'clock. They have reservations at Logans for tonight. I was going to set up a bomb in their car after they went in. It would detonate once they turned on the ignition." She explained.

"What about Eric, Dixon, Williams and Parker?" Vaughn asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that Williams and Parker were going to get hit sometime in the next two days during one of their missions. I wasn't given any specifics. Dixon isn't my target, another agent was supposed to meet me today so that I could give him the file." Lauren said.

"What about Eric?" Vaughn asked.

"He's as good as dead. I put a bomb in his apartment an hour ago. As soon as he unlocks his door he'll be dead. He gets off of work in an hour in case you didn't know."

"How can you be so cold about this?" Vaughn asked his voice almost a whisper.

"What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" Lauren asked as Vaughn grabbed her arm and dragged her to the kitchen. He took out a pair of handcuffs from his bag and handcuffed her to the pipes underneath the kitchen sink.

"I'm not going to let you get away with this." He said leaning down to look straight at her face.

"You can't stop them. No matter what you do, YOU CAN'T STOP THEM!" Lauren yelled at him.

"That's right, you can't stop us." A male voice from behind Vaughn said. Vaughn turned around only to find himself facing Zisman, Lauren's handler. He had his gun pointed at him and before Vaughn had a chance to react Zisman pulled the trigger...

****

**Will Vaughn die? If he lives, will he be in time to save his friend? Can Sydney do anything to stop this madness? Only time will tell... **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. I'll update before Tuesday, so you don't have to wait too long for the answers. **


	10. Friends and Flames

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Alias or its characters.

AN: Here's the update I promised. It's a pretty short chapter but it should answer one or two questions. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.

Dreams That Haunt: Friends and Flames

Vaughn woke up in pain. He was bleeding pretty badly, thankfully though he knew it wasn't serious. Zisman had shot him twice in the chest and once in his left arm. Thankfully Vaughn had come prepared wearing an old bulletproof vest. Vaughn got up slowly and looked at his arm. It was only a scratch but it hurt like hell. He looked at his watch and realized he'd been out for about twenty minutes. Suddenly he remembered all about Lauren's plan and ran out the door. He ran a block before he found his car and immediately jumped in and drove off. He knew Eric usually went home at five and he had forty minutes until then. He picked up his cell with his left arm, and although it hurt so much he managed to dial Eric's number. The phone rang and rang but Eric wouldn't answer.

"Damn it Eric, answer!" he yelled at no one. Frustration was taking over him, he feared he'd be too later. He feared that he wouldn't get there in time and would have to bury his best friend.

"_Hey this is Eric Weiss, I can't get to the phone right now but leave me a message and I might call you back." _

"Eric, it's Michael. Whatever you do don't go to your apartment. There's a bomb in there. I can't go into much detail right now but I'm on my way there. Call me back as soon as you get this." Vaughn said. Vaughn hung up and dialed the number to the CIA.

"ID 2300708." He said to the automated voice recording.

"Los Angeles CIA office." A woman answered.

"I need to speak to Director Dixon." Vaughn demanded as he took a sharp turn making his tire screech.

"Director Dixon is in a meeting in Langley." She responded.

"Then connect me to Agent Weiss!" Vaughn yelled in frustration.

"I'm sorry Agent Weiss went home early." she said to him.

"What time!" he yelled at her.

"About ten minutes ago." She answered sounding angry at Vaughn. Vaughn hung up and began to speed up. He knew he was about ten minutes from Eric's house but he was determined to get there in five. He drove as fast as he could not caring to stop or slow down at any time. Cars had to swerve to miss hitting his car but he didn't care. He couldn't let his best friend die.

He was getting close to Eric's house. He was only about two blocks away now. He took another sharp turn and saw Eric's house. He felt relieved that he had gotten there in time. But as he came closer to the familiar house he heard a loud noise and then saw the explosion. Vaughn stopped his car and got out. His eyes were filled with tears and his heart was filled with anger, hate and an immense sadness. Vaughn fell to the floor and leaned against his car. He didn't want to do anything, he didn't want to move or yell all he wanted to do was sit there and watch his best friend's house in flames. As he sat there indulging in his guilt and pain he heard ringing. He realized it was his phone but he didn't want to answer it. He didn't want to talk to anyone, he just couldn't. The phone stopped ringing and soon the place was swarming with cops and firefighters. It was then that he heard something that gave him hope.

"Mike! Mike are you alright?" a voice said. Vaughn turned around to face the person who sounded so much like Eric. His eyes lighted up as he realized that it was Eric.

"Eric! You're alive!" Vaughn yelled as he stood up and walked towards his friend.

"I tried calling you back but you wouldn't answer. When I got here and I saw the house in flames and I thought it might have been you." Eric began.

"I got here just before the explosion, when I saw it I thought I was too late. I'm so happy you're okay." Vaughn said. They hugged and turned to look at the house in flames. They turned to each other in confusion. If it hadn't been either of them who had set off the bomb then who had it been?


	11. Reporting To Kendell

Disclaimer: I still don't own either Alias or its characters.

Dreams That Haunt: Reporting to Kendell

"She put a bomb in an agent's house earlier today. She then went back to her apartment. There was yelling, it sounded like Mr. Vaughn. Then her contact entered her home and I heard three shots." The man with a German accent explained.

"What happened? Was Vaughn hurt?" Sydney asked over the phone.

"No, no. Mr. Vaughn left the apartment twenty minutes later. He was bleeding from his left arm. I tried to go to his aid but he ran to his car before he even noticed that I was there." He continued.

"Schneider where is she now?" Sydney asked.

"She went to an airport and sat down next to a payphone. She's been sitting there ever since." Schneider told her.

"Whose house was it?" Sydney reluctantly asked.

"It was an agent Weiss. Hitzig stayed on location to see what happened. He reported to me about ten minutes ago that an unidentified man came to the agent's house and knocked but after a moment he tried opening the door and triggered the explosion. Mr. Vaughn drove there right before the explosion. Hitzig told me he was very distraught." Schneider told her.

"I want you to make sure that you don't lose her. Report back any unusual or suspicious activity. If you can't report to me, make sure you tell Vaughn. Where's Jackson?" she asked.

"Jackson is tailing Zisman, just like you asked." Schneider told her.

"Has he reported anything useful." Sydney asked.

"Yes, he has already identified three other covenant agents. Two of them work in federal buildings. One is with the FBI and the other with Internal Affairs. The third works at a bank. I've sent you their files already." Schneider said.

"Thank you Schneider. I'll send you and the others your payments to the same account." Sydney informed him.

"Thank you Miss Sydney. I'll keep you informed of everything that happens." Schneider said. Sydney hung up the phone and walked to a abandoned warehouse nearby. She made sure no one was following her before she entered.

"Hello Sydney." Kendell said. Kendell was concealed by the darkness of the warehouse but as soon as he saw Sydney he came closer to her.

"I have more information Kendell. I think we're making a lot of progress." Sydney told him. "I had someone follow Lauren's handler. We've identified three more covenant agents. You should have a copy of those files back at the CIA."

"That's great Sydney. What else do you have for me?" Kendell asked.

"Lauren. She's become a bigger problem than we expected. I thought her mission was simply to keep tabs on Vaughn but I know now that she's much more dangerous. She planted a bomb in Eric's home." She told him.

"Sydney, I already told you that Lauren is valuable to us if she thinks we don't know who she works for." Kendell explained.

"Kendell, she could have killed Weiss! She's too dangerous. You need to take care of it." Sydney demanded.

"You're right, I'll see what I can do. Now for you counter-mission, you and Simon will go to Algeria and look for the keys as planned. Once you find them you switch the original keys with these fake keys we've made for you." Kendell explained as he showed her the keys that looked exactly like the original Rambaldi keys.

"Don't you think it's a bit risky? What happens when the covenant tries to use the keys and they don't work?" she asked.

"Don't worry Syd. The CIA thinks that once all twelve keys are recovered the covenant will send you to recover the cube. If that happens we'll give you the original keys and you will give us the cube. And in case it doesn't go as planned, the keys are defective and it will simply appear that time is the culprit for the keys not working." Kendell explained. "The keys will be sent to Algeria and when you recover the originals you will contact me and I will tell send someone with the fake keys. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'm scheduled to meet Simon later this afternoon. I won't be able to contact you for some time but you should still be receiving information about Zisman, Lauren and the other covenant agents." Sydney told him.

"Be careful out there." Kendell said to her.

"I will, just make sure you don't let Lauren get away." Sydney said to him as she left the warehouse.

In Rome later that night:

Sydney sat in a crowded restaurant waiting to meet Simon Walker. She wore a beautiful red dress and her blonde hair rested neatly on her shoulders.

"Hello gorgeous." Simon said startling Sydney. Sydney turned around to see the man that Vaughn was so worried about.

"Simon Walker I presume." She said.

"Yes, that would be me. Julia Thorne, I've heard lots about you. I can only hope you live up to my expectations." He said looking her up and down. Simon sat across from Sydney and looked at her closely. "You're very beautiful Julia."

"Thank you." She said as she took a sip of her red wine.

"Before I work with anyone Julia, I like to make sure that they're worthy of working with me. After all you wouldn't buy a car without giving it a test run would you?" Simon began. Sydney simply looked at him in silence. "Are you ready?"

"Always." She responded.


	12. Bristow Here

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading and reviewing. This is a short chapter and Syd isn't going to be in it, but next few chapters will have some Syd/Simon scenes. I think it would be nice to see Vaughn have some competition. What do you guys think? **

Chapter 12: Bristow here

Vaughn watched as Eric answered the officer's questions while an EMT took a look at his wound. The EMT bandaged his left arm and gave him some painkillers. Eric began to walk towards Vaughn a few minutes later.

"Mike, what happened? How did you know about the bomb?" Eric asked.

"Eric, I don't want you to get involved." Vaughn answered.

"Mike I am involved. Someone blew up my house, I think that counts as my invitation to the party." Eric said trying not to raise his voice.

"You're right, I'll tell you what you need to know, but nothing more. I won't answer questions that can jeopardize your life or this mission." Vaughn said.

"Mission, what are you talking about, you left the CIA." Eric said.

"Come on I'll drive you to my apartment and we can talk on the way." Vaughn answered as they walked to his car. Eric got in and noticed that a silver disk the size of a quarter was hanging from the rear-view mirror. Engraved were the letters SAB.

"Man, Lauren is gonna freak if she sees this." He said as he pointed to the silver disk.

"It's a bug killer. I got it a few weeks ago, and believe me when I tell you I could care less what Lauren thinks." Vaughn said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Problems in paradise?" Eric began. "It might have to do with the fact that you haven't let go of Syd. Look Mike, it hurt us all. We all loved her but you can't continue to live your life expecting to see her again. As much as it hurts me, Syd is gone, she's not coming back. Lauren is a good woman, and you're going to end up pushing her away if you continue to remind her that you still love Syd. Give her a chance Mike."

"Are you done?" Vaughn said.

"Yes I'm done." Eric said.

"Good, because you have no idea how wrong you are." Vaughn began. "Lauren is working for the people who took Syd from us."

"What! Are you sure, how do you know?" Eric asked in shock.

"I found out a few weeks ago. Someone contacted me and told me that Lauren was working for the Covenant."

"Who? How do you know they aren't lying to you? Does the CIA know about this?" Eric asked, while a million questions filled his head.

"Believe me when I tell you that my contact is very reliable. She contacted the CIA as well, they weren't planning on letting me know about Lauren's real agenda. She told me as a favor. The CIA has no idea I'm involved but they know about her."

"So you've been sleeping with the enemy, that's a new one for you. I would have never suspected her." Eric said. Vaughn was clearly bothered by Eric's comment but decided to let it go.

"I've set up surveillance, and I have a few freelance agents following her as well as her contacts. We've made a lot of progress, the covenant has no idea we're on to them. Well they didn't up until a few hours ago. My contact called me earlier today, she thought that there was something going down because of Lauren's strange behavior this past week. I broke into her apartment earlier today and found a briefcase containing files on six CIA agents. As I looked though them I realized that they were more than just profiles, they were orders to kill. Your profile was among them. Damn!" Vaughn suddenly yelled out as he immediately stopped the car and turned around.

"I thought we were going to your place?" Eric asked.

"Marshall and Carrie! Lauren's planning to kill them tonight. I can't believe I forgot! Damn it!!" Vaughn yelled.

"Mike, calm down, we can do this, just keep your cool." Eric asked.

"You're right, what time is it?" Vaughn asked.

"It's seven thirty. What do you want me to do?" Eric asked.

"Call Marshall and if he doesn't answer then call Carrie." Vaughn said. "I'll call the CIA." Vaughn picked up his phone and dialed the number to the CIA.

"ID 2300708." Vaughn said. "I need to speak to the highest ranking officer there now!"

"Bristow here."

"Jack?" Vaughn asked in surprise.

"If you have something to say, I suggest you say it now, if not then don't waste my time." Jack coldly answered.

"Jack, Lauren's covenant, she tried to kill me today. I found out that she's planning assassinations on six CIA agents. I assume you heard about Eric's apartment, that was Lauren's doing. Her next two targets are Marshall and Carrie, she told me they had reservations at Logans tonight. She plans on putting a bomb in their car as soon as they arrive. She's also scheduled to meet Dixon's assassin tonight." Vaughn explained as fast as he could.

"Have you contacted Marshall and Carrie?" Jack asked.

"Did you get through to them?" Vaughn asked Eric.

"They're not answering." Eric said. "I just get their voicemail."

"No, they're not answering." Vaughn told Jack.

"Alright, keep trying. In the meantime I'll get a unit out to Logans. We can't let Lauren get away."

"Thanks Jack." Vaughn said.

Jack hung up and immediately picked up the phone.

"I need two teams in place at Logans right away. No mistakes. We're looking for Lauren Reed." Jack said to the other man. He sat back for a minute thinking about what had just happened.

He picked up the phone once again and dialed a familiar number.

"Kendell."

"Kendell it's Jack Bristow."

"Jack, how can I help you?"

"Vaughn knows."

"Are you sure? I spoke to Sydney, she told me I was the only one who knew."

"She lied. Vaughn just called to let the CIA know about Lauren's assassination plans. I had to call in a team to apprehend her."

"Jack, she's been asking about you, are you planning on meeting with her at all?"

"No, it could jeopardize our mission. What have you been telling her?"

"For now I've been telling her that you're in deep cover, but I can't tell her that forever."

"I spoke to Vaughn, she'll find out I'm in LA once she talks to him. You'll have to come up with something else."

"Don't worry, she won't contact you if she thinks she's putting you in danger. She cares too much about you. Sadly I don't think you deserve it."

"I don't really care what you think, but I am your superior so the next time we speak keep your opinions to yourself."

"You may be my superior Jack, but it doesn't change the fact that you've betrayed your daughter. If Sydney ever finds out that you knew she was being held by the covenant and did nothing she'll never forgive you."

"I don't have to answer to you Kendell. What I do, I do for the sake of my daughter. I know what she can handle, and she can handle the covenant. Now this conversation is over." Jack said hanging up the phone.

Although Jack put on a cold hearted face, Kendell's words had hurt him. They had hurt him because he knew that he was right. Sydney would never forgive him if she knew the truth, but even though he had betrayed her trust, he loved her more than she could ever know. He could only hope that Sydney would never find out the truth.

**I know Jack doesn't come off as the best person in this chapter, but he's not going to be a bad guy. Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter, I really love it when you guys review. **


	13. The Art of Dancing

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading and reviewing. Here's the Simon/Syd scene I promised, hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think. Is it too much, or not enough? I want input and the more you review the faster I'll update.

Chapter 13: The Art of Dancing

"Where are we going?" Sydney asked indifferently, although deep down she was worried about the situation at hand. She looked out the window but didn't recognize the road they were taking.

"It's a surprise beautiful." Simon simply answered taking a quick glance at her.

"I don't like surprises." She said in a bored tone while she played with the ends of her blonde hair.

"This will be fun. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." Simon answered. They continued driving for fifteen minutes before Simon parked the car in front of a large mansion.

"Do you like art?" Simon asked her.

"I'm not a big fan but I can appreciate a work of art when I see one." She answered.

"Yeah, well I'm no fan either but there are a few works that I love. I especially love Da Vince's work. My favorite paintings is the,"

"Mona Lisa?" Sydney interrupted.

"No actually. It's the Virgin and Child. See that mansion?" he began, as Sydney nodded. "The owner has a private collection, one he doesn't share with the public or anyone else for that matter. It's located two floors underneath the first floor, there's not a lot of security. It's fancy stuff but nothing you can't handle."

"You want me to steal it?" Sydney asked trying to sound as composed as she possibly could.

"I just wanna see it, not steal it. There's nothing like seeing a masterpiece in real life... don't you agree?"

"Any guards, cameras, added security? Where's the painting kept?" she asked him.

"No guards, about five cameras, one at the front door, elevator, first floor, ground level A and ground level B, that I know of. The painting should be kept inside a vault in ground level B. No added security, the vault looks complicated but it's not, it's very basic. It uses a password, not a combination."

"Anyone home?" she asked.

"Just the owner, who luckily for you is sound asleep."

"Alright, I'll need some things." She said.

"You can do whatever your heart pleases beautiful, just keep in mind that you have a time limit, thirty minutes from now. So I suggest you hurry." He said to her pointing to his watch.

"I need your car." She said, her voice going from bored to meaning business. It only took her an instant to get into the spy mindset. She knew what she had to do and she wasn't about to let anything get in her way.

"I don't think so darling." Simon answered.

"Well then move over so I can drive." She said her tone serious and demanding.

"Alright." He said getting out of the car and going into the passenger seat as Sydney got into the drivers seat, put on her seat belt and drove off as quickly as possible. Simon didn't speak to her, he could see in her eyes that she meant business. Sydney stopped at a small store and ran in. She walked through the aisles quickly taking only what she needed. She grabbed a can of spray paint, and a English-Italian translator. She paid the cashier quickly and ran out the door without wasting any time. By the time she got back to the mansion she had only used up fifteen minutes which meant that she was going to have to work very quickly. She took off her high heel shoes and grabbed her purse where she quickly put all the things she had just bought. She looked at the mansion and approached the front door from the side, on the camera's blind spot. She took out the spray paint and sprayed the camera with black paint, making it impossible for anyone to identify her. She took the two pins that had kept her straight hair in place and used them to open the door. Once the door was open she carefully entered trying to locate the second camera. She spotted the camera hanging from the ceiling a few feet away from the door. The house was completely dark so there was no reason to believe that the camera would be able to clearly identify her but she wasn't one to take chances during a job so she sprayed the second camera as well. She looked around the living room area but she couldn't find an elevator anywhere. She entered an office where she saw a large bookcase.

"Bingo." She whispered to herself. She pulled as many of the books as she could until finally the hidden door was revealed. She walked into the small passageway and when she found the elevator she sprayed the camera before getting in and pushing B. She looked impatiently at her watch as the elevator went down, she had only eleven minutes to locate the painting and get it to Walker or else she didn't pass the test. When the elevator doors opened she realized that something was wrong. From where she stood she could tell that the vault was far too easy to break into. She pulled out the spray paint once more but instead of aiming at the camera right outside the elevator she sprayed to the empty space directly in front of her. Out of nowhere several red laser lines appeared.

"Silent Alarm." She said to herself. Walker must have known, she thought to herself. She used the spray paint to cover the camera before taking the first few steps toward the vault. She realized that the easiest way would be to slide on the floor where there were fewer lasers. She stepped back into the elevator and lied down on her back. Using her feet but without bending her knees much she began to slowly slide toward the vault. She used the spray from time to time and found only few obstacles where she had to sit up and stand up and cross over a few really low lasers. It took her about three minutes to cross the short distance between the elevator and the vault. Once she was safely away from the lasers she looked at the vault. It had a numeric pad, which meant that she would have to hack into the system to find the password. She opened the keypad and began to unplug wires which she then connected to the translator. After pressing a few buttons and adding new commands to the translator, it began to search for the code. Once all six numbers were found the vault opened. Sydney looked at her watch and realized she had a little over four minutes to leave the mansion with the painting in hand. She opened the vault door and immediately spotted the painting. She took it and began to slide it on the floor making sure not to hurt the fragile piece of art. She began to slide herself and within two minutes she was back in the elevator with the art piece. She ran out the door as fast as possible and ran towards Simon who sat in his car waiting patiently. She got in the car and handed him the painting. Simon marveled at the painting while Sydney sat there watching him. He really seemed moved by the painting, something she hadn't expected because of his profession.

"Look how beautiful it is." He finally said.

"It's great, but don't you think that we should get out of here." Sydney said to him.

"Yeah, you're right beautiful. We should go celebrate our new partnership. Congratulations, you passed and with one minute to spare." He said finally taking his eyes off of the painting.

"I'm the best, you shouldn't doubt that." She responded.

----Later that same night at a club in Rome----

The music was great, the mood was vibrant and Sydney was having a great time for the first time in a long time. She and Simon drank and danced like they were teenagers out for the first time. Sydney had thrown herself into her new alias of Julia Thorne. Julia was a free-spirit, she was smart and loved to have fun and although she was also calculating and cold-hearted, Julia was free to do whatever she pleased, wrong or right it didn't matter. To Julia the world was full of endless possibilities, something that as Sydney she had never had. Although Sydney knew better than to submerge herself in this new alias, the traumatic events that had happened over the past few months, made her not care. Her life had been ripped apart, she had been taken away from everything and everyone she knew and loved and for tonight she wasn't going to wallow in self-pity and pain. No, tonight she was going to be wild and crazy and free. She was after all Julia Thorne tonight, not Sydney Bristow.

"Julia, do you want another drink?" Simon asked her.

"Keep them coming Walker!" she yelled at him from her seat. Sydney moved her feet to the beat of the music and tapped her hands on the table. She moved her head from side to side letting her blonde hair move with her. She still wore the sexy red dress she had worn to dinner. Simon came back with two more bears and Sydney took one and began to drink.

"Easy there." Simon told her, putting his hand over her beer and putting it back on the table.

"Let's dance!" she yelled at him. Simon had never been the type to dance but Julia was impossible to say no to, especially after several drinks. Simon stood up and took Julia's hand as they walked to the dance floor. He watched as she moved her body from side to side. Her laughter was enchanting and as he watched her, he couldn't help but realize that he was in trouble. He liked Julia, and although he had liked other women before, what made Julia different was that they were partners.

Perhaps it was the many drinks in him, or the way she looked tonight, or maybe it was the way she moved her body but something took over him. He no longer cared that they were partners, or that he didn't like to get attached. He simply put his arm around her waist and pushed her close to him and looked at her. It was a look that stopped her dead in her tracks. She stopped laughing and placed her hands on his shoulder. She didn't move, she didn't speak but she also didn't reject him. He put his other hand on her back and kissed her with all the passion he had in him. It was a long slow kiss, one which he enjoyed very much. A kiss which she had enjoyed as well.


	14. Under Fire

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated lately, I've had six midterms and I finally finished this last Friday. I hope you guys like this chapter, please review, it really motivates me to write more, thanks. I'll do my best to update as soon as possible, be patient, I promise I'll finish it. 

Chapter 14: Under Fire

Lauren sat silently on top of tall building that overlooked Logan's parking lot. She had her sniper gun ready in case something went wrong. Her phone started ringing and she hesitantly answered.

"You've failed." the deep voice on the other line calmly said to her.

"Michael wasn't my fault, he must have been tipped. I was very careful and I know that I..."

"Stop!" he yelled interrupting her. " This is neither the time nor the place. Obviously you weren't careful enough but I wasn't talking about that failure. I was referring to your more recent failures. Specifically the fact that Eric Weiss is alive and well and still a threat to us." Lauren felt a wave of fear wash over her. She had failed again. The covenant wasn't into giving second chances, the moment an agent was no longer of use to them the covenant would simply get rid of them. She was coming very close to being of no use to them, she knew that she couldn't afford any other mistakes.

"The covenant is beginning to reconsider your usefulness to this organization. I suggest that you don't fail again, I cannot guarantee your position within the covenant if this happens again"  
Zisman said to her. "Understood?"

"Yes sir." she said hanging up the phone. A few minutes earlier she had placed a bomb on the bottom of the Marshall Flinkman's car. An explosion that she was sure would leave no remains of either his girlfriend or himself.

She sat patiently waiting for Marshall and Carey to exit the building, unaware that the CIA had a two teams in place and at the moment were waiting for their orders to apprehend her.

**-Back at the CIA**

"You're going to let her get away!" Vaughn yelled.

"You don't give orders here Mr. Vaughn, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself otherwise I will have someone escort you out of here." Jack calmly said, his face showing almost no emotion.

"You can't do that."Vaughn answered.

"May I remind you that you are no longer with the CIA and that the only reason you are here is out of some misplaced courtesy that Director Dixon has for you. You don't have any privileges here, I can do whatever I please." Jack said walking away. Vaughn stood there feeling angry because he felt powerless. Eric who had witnessed the argument between his best friend and superior walked over toward Vaughn.  
"Hey man. You okay?" Eric asked.

"They're going to lose her, and he won't do anything but stand there and try to bully me"  
Vaughn answered.

"Hey, she's not going to get away. I overheard Jack talking and they're waiting for the second agent. They want to make sure that Dixon isn't in any danger. Jack says that if they take Lauren too quickly that they'll never know who the second agent was and that would be putting Dixon in danger." Eric explained.

"I hate her." Vaughn said quietly.

"I know man." Eric said to him patting Vaughn on the back.

"You don't know Eric. You don't know what it feels like to have someone use you like that. She used my pain, my job, she helped take Sydney away from me. When I found out, I wanted to kill her. I wanted to break her neck with my hands, to see her die. I had to fight everyday to not do it. Everytime she touched me, she kissed me, it was the worst thing I ever had to do, to pretend that I cared about her. I hate her, more than you can ever imagine." Vaughn said gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"I know that I can't say I know what you feel, but I understand that you're hurt. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to pretend to care about someone who took Syd away. We all loved her Mike, you're not the only one who wants to get revenge. I would gladly torture Lauren, just to have the satisfaction of hurting the woman who helped with Sydney's death. I miss her too, but you have to get it together. You were doing so well Mike, don't let your pain take over again." Eric told Vaughn.

"I won't Eric. I promise." he answered. In his mind he thought about Sydney. He thought about what it was like to see her alive again. He had been overwhelmed by emotion the day that he first saw her. He wondered if he was dreaming because after her "death" he had seen her many times. More like he had imagined her many times. That day however, he knew that he was looking at her and not a figment of his imagination. His heart had told him so. As sad as it was to know that she had no recollection of him, his happiness was even more overwhelming and all he could think of after that day was finding her. When she "died" he had lost a part of himself along with her. Now he was whole again, and everyday she was his motivation and his reason for waking up in the morning. One day they would be together again, he knew that, and for that reason he would never give up, he would never lose himself in his pain again.

**-On a rooftop **

"Miss Reed?" a tall scary looking man asked. Lauren was still waiting to see when the explosion took place, she hadn't heard the man come and had been startled by his question.

"Gunter, I presume." she said trying to look as calm as possible. Gunter simply nodded. "I left the files at a locker in a gym nearby."

"That's not why I came here." he said. It was at that moment that Lauren knew she had lost her usefulness to the covenant. She knew that her life was in danger, but she had a plan. "You see,  
you've become a problem for the covenant, you're sloppy. You've revealed yourself to the CIA,  
and worse yet you've put the covenant's plans in jeopardy. Any last words?" Lauren realized that all this time Gunter had been holding a gun behind his back, a gun which he now pointed at Lauren.

**-Meanwhile in the CIA **

"We've just received word that the second covenant agent has just arrived." an agent reported to Jack.

"Tell unit one to move in. I want them alive, they may be of use to us." Jack said.

"Sir, I've just been told that the second agent is armed and hostile." a second agent informed Jack.

"Hostile?" Jack questioned.

"It seems that he's aiming at the Senator's daughter."

"Tell unit one to move in now!" he yelled as he walked away toward his office.

**-On a rooftop **

"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" a man yelled from behind them. He was pointing his gun at Gunter and behind him were seven other armed men.

"I SAID DROP YOUR WEAPON!" the man yelled once more. Lauren immediately put her hands in the air. Gunter however, kept his gun pointed to Lauren.

"They have the place surrounded, you won't escape, even if you kill me." Lauren said. Gunter looked around, he knew he was surrounded.

"Well in that case it won't matter whether I kill you or not." he said. Lauren's eyes widened with fear as Gunter pressed the trigger and a bullet went flying through the air and straight into Lauren's right shoulder. Lauren felt a piercing pain shoot through her body. She fell on her knees an then straight to the ground. She couldn't see anything, but she heard yelling and then several gunshots.

**-In Vaughn's apartment **

It had been two hours since the CIA had captured two covenant agents, and he felt like he was going to go crazy. He wasn't given any information, except that the two agents were in custody,  
nothing more. He was waiting in his apartment, hoping that Weiss would call him with some information. It was times like these that made him regret not working with the CIA, at least then he would be well informed.

Just then the phone rang, Michael stood up from the sofa and ran to the phone.

"Hello." he answered.

"Mike, it's me Weiss."

"Eric, what happened? Do you know anything? What are they doing with Lauren?" Michael asked.

"Hey Mike, let me get a word in."

"I'm sorry, go ahead." Michael said.

"Lauren was shot, and the second covenant agent opened fired on us, they shot him down. He's barely alive. The doctors say that there isn't much chance of Lauren surviving, and they're pretty sure that the other one is going to die." Eric told him.

"She deserves a lot worse, dead is too good for her." he said.

"Listen Mike, I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this, if anyone finds out I could lose my job, so keep this quiet. I'll try to keep you posted but I can't promise anything. I have to go, but try to get a grip on yourself, you're talking like a mad man." Eric said.

"Thanks Eric. Bye." Michael said.

"Bye." Eric responded. Michael hung up the phone and walked to his bedroom. He walked towards the closet and took out a medium sized shoe box that was hidden behind blankets and other boxes. He took the box back to the living room, setting it in front of the couch next to him. He opened the box and looked through it's contents. Inside were pictures of Michael and Sydney together, but most were just of her, there was also a blouse that she had once left in his care during a mission. It had once smelled like her but not anymore, he had smelled it so many times that the scent was almost gone. As he sat there remembering all the things that they had gone through, he wondered to himself what she was up to. He wondered if she was thinking about him, missing him as much as he missed her, loving him as much as he loved her. With those thoughts Michael laid down on the couch holding on to her shirt on one hand and a picture of her on the other. Soon he was asleep, dreaming about the day when they would be together again.

**Next Morning in Rome**

The alarm was going off, she wanted to get her gun and shoot it, but she knew she had to get up. She sat up and sighed, it was going to be a long day she thought to herself. She stood up and as she walked toward the bathroom she turned off the alarm that was on her dresser. She closed the bathroom door and ran a bath. Baths helped her think clearly and they also helped her keep her stress down. Once the bathtub was full she turned off the water, stripped down and got in. Being there she couldn't help but think of the last time she had taken a bath like this one. It had been the night after Vaughn and Dixon had rescued her from Kabir, Vaughn had always been so great to her. She missed him so much....she loved him so much. It was then that she remembered the events of the night before. Simon had kissed her, and she kissed him back, but pushed him away soon after. She had simply walked out of the club without saying goodbye, then she drove back to her apartment and went to bed. She wondered to herself whether this counted as cheating,  
we're they still together? How many times since she had been back had Vaughn kissed Lauren.  
or worse, slept with her. She had never asked him if he and Lauren slept together, it would have been to painful for her, she preferred to pretend that they didn't. But either way it was different,  
he was playing a part to get information... but then so was she. She was pretending to be Julia Thorne and Julia Thorne had no one to answer to. Still, it wasn't that she had allowed Simon to kiss her that bothered her, it was that she had enjoyed that kiss. Sydney started to cry. She thought about Francie, she needed her so much. She thought about all the people she had left behind, what had she done to deserve all this. Francie was dead... and she was to blame. It was her life as an agent that had put her friends at risk. Francie wasn't the only one to suffer because of her, Will had lost everything, even his identity, and Danny.... Danny had lost his life. When would all her suffering end?

"When the Covenant is destroyed." she answered outloud. She stood up and wrapped a towel around her naked body. She knew what she had to do, in order for her to get her life back she needed to destroy the covenant, and she was in the perfect position to do it. She didn't have to follow CIA protocol, she was on her own and although it was a frightening thought, she knew that without the CIA to order her around, she could do a lot more damage. With this new determination Sydney got dressed and headed towards the airport.


	15. No Brainer

**-In Algeria**

"We're looking for a man named Albert Hyman. He's the last known owner of the 9th key. He's staying at Hotel Baroco. We'll interrogate him first, then we'll see where we go from there." Simon said looking out the window of the car they were in.

"How are we getting in?" Syd asked.

"We're simply going in." Simon answered.

"No cover? No alias?" she asked.

"Just guns." he said. "Listen, Julia... about last night..."

"Don't, just forget about it." she replied.

"I didn't mean to offend you, I just couldn't resist." he finished anyway.

"I don't like surprises, so next time... resist." she said dryly. Simon laughed while Sydney continued to study the blueprints of the hotel.

"I hope this won't affect our work together... you know the sexual tension." Simon added.

"Believe me, it won't." she replied. "What room is he in?"

"Third floor, room 1359." he answered.

"I think we should go in from the basement, we can take the elevator to the third floor from there. There are no camera's from the basement, we can disable the camera's on the third floor from this room in the basement." she said pointing to the blueprints. Simon glanced over and nodded.

" It should be an easy job. Are you sure that there isn't any added security?"

"Babe, I'm sure... I was assured that this is a no-brainer." he said.

"I hope you're right." she replied.

"What, you don't trust me?" Simon asked taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her. She simply looked at him and shook her head. "That hurts baby."

They drove for a while longer, all the while Sydney kept studying the blueprints while Simon stared at her from time to time.

"Alright babe, we're here, you can stop ignoring me now." Simon said as he stopped the car.

Sydney simply stepped out of the car with her gun in one hand and walked toward the back entrance of the hotel, Simon following right behind her.

"This should lead us to the security room, according to the information you provided there shouldn't be any surveillance here. This doesn't seem a bit too easy to you?" she said to him as she looked at the unsecured door.

"Babe, does everything have to be complicated with you? It's an easy job, just take it like it is. We go in, we go bang bang with our guns and get the information we came here for."

"Fine." she said. She opened the door and surveyed the room. It was empty. Simon walked past her and into the room that held all of the hotel's security systems. She heard shots and then Simon stepped out of the room and looked at her.

"Come on babe, are you gonna stand there all day?" Simon asked. Sydney simply stared at him and then at his gun.

"It's a tranq gun babe, I'm not going to bring any unnecessary attention." he told her.

"Did you disable the security cameras?" she asked.

"I'm a professional, of course I did." he said.

"Then let's go." she said as she walked past him. They walked to the elevator and went to the third floor. When the doors opened several men stood outside waiting for them, all with guns pointed at them.

"No-brainer, huh?" Sydney said turning to look at Simon.

"Perhaps I was misinformed." he said.


	16. Darkness

**A/N: So here's another update. Thanks for reading, and if you can please let me know what you think. **

Chapter 16: Darkness

The darkness slowly began to fade. Her head ached, and little by little she began to feel the rest of her body. She slowly lifted her head and looked around the room. Everything looked fuzzy, and as the room came to focus she realized that her hands were tied to the back of the chair. She heard someone groan behind her, she slowly turned around and spotted Simon sitting behind her, arms tied to the back of the chair.

"Simon."

"Ummmm."

"Simon, are you alright?"

"Sure babe, how about yourself?"

"Peachy." she replied. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know, someone must have told them that we were coming." he said.

"Who else knew?"

"No one that I can think of."

"There has to be someone." she said.

"Could we stop with the chit chat and get us out of here." he said.

"I don't think I can get loose." she said. She tried to wiggle her arms out of the rope but it was impossible, it was too tight. Suddenly she stopped moving after hearing a few noises. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" he asked continuing to try to get free.

"I think someone's coming." she said.

"Great." Simon said sarcastically. Seconds later the door opened and in came two men. The men circled the room for a few seconds before they stopped in front of Simon.

"Who do you work for?" the taller man asked.

"Listen, man, this is a mistake. I don't know what your talking about." he said. Sydney heard the sounds of Simon being beaten, and closed her eyes trying to regain her composure. After a few minutes the sounds stopped and she watched as the two men walked to the door.

"Next time, you might consider being a little more cooperative." the second man said in a Russian accent. She saw them leave and as soon as the door closed, she continued to try to free herself.

"Are you alright Simon?" she asked, genuinely concerned. Simon didn't answer, he just groaned. Finally after a few seconds she heard him whisper. "I'm fine."

She waited, for what seemed like an eternity, before she asked her next question. "Did you recognize either of them?"

"No. Did you?"

"No. Why didn't you tell them we work for the covenant?"

"You sound surprised."

"I was told you had no loyalties, except to yourself."

"You heard correctly, and that's exactly why I didn't tell them anything."

"I don't understand."

"Listen darling, if we told them, we would be worse than dead. First of all, they wouldn't have let us go until we died, and if the covenant got word that we talked, they would extract us only to torture us as long as is humanly possible. I've worked with them before, I know their techniques and believe me a beating, or death is much more pleasant. I suggest that when they ask you, you too keep it to yourself, it's for your own good."

—Hours later—

The men walked into the room once more, this time they stopped in front of Sydney.

"Have you decided to talk?"the tall one said.

"I don't know anything." she said as she closed her eyes expecting the beating that was to come. Instead she heard the man whistle. She opened her eyes and several armed men walked into the room. Three men approached Simon and untied him. They carried him out of the room, continually beating him to prevent an attempt of escape. Two more armed men walked toward Sydney.

Before they untied her, the taller man began to punch Sydney. She couldn't fight back, she was tied to the chair, all she could do was take the beating. One man from behind her cut the rope while two more carried her from the arms and dragged her out. In front of her a man would hit her with the baton in his hand every few seconds. She was in so much pain, but she tried hard to stay awake. Finally she was taken into a cell. They threw her on the floor and locked the door, leaving her there, bleeding and in pain. Once she heard the men leave, she closed her eyes and thought of her beloved Vaughn. She silently cried, hoping and wishing that this would be over soon, and that she would once again be in the arms of the man she loved. With those thoughts she fell asleep on the cold concrete floor of the dark cell she was in, and dreamt of Vaughn.

–Two weeks later in LA–

Jack walked into the restaurant, and looked around until he spotted Agent Vaughn sitting at one of the tables at the far end. Jack walked towards him and sat down across from him.

"Agent Vaughn." he said matter-of-factly.

"Jack, thank you for coming." Vaugn said to him. It was awkward seeing Jack in a such a social setting. Aside from Jack being one of the most intimidating men that Vaughn had ever met, he was also the most unsocial, to say the least.

"You said it was a matter of life or death. I assume that this has to do with Lauren."

"Actually no. Lauren is the least of my worries right now."

"Then what is this about?" Jack asked as the waiter approached them.

"Can I take your orders?" the waiter asked.

"I'll just have a cup of coffee." Vaughn said.

"Nothing for me." Jack said.

Once the waiter left, Vaughn began telling Jack what their meeting was all about.

"It's about your daughter."

"What about her?"

"She's alive." Vaughn finally said. He had thought of a million different way to break the news to Jack. He didn't want to shock him, to make it seem like he was being delusional. Finally he had decided to simply say it, no preparing Jack for it, simply telling him the truth. Surprisingly Jack's face showed no emotion. Vaughn always knew that Jack wasn't an emotional man, but to have no reaction to the news that his dead daughter wasn't actually dead, it seemed heartless to him. "Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I already knew." he simply said.

"What? How long have you known?"

"Longer than you if that's what you're asking."

"You've known all this time and you did nothing to help her? What kind of father are you?"

"Listen Agent Vaughn, I can understand that you have feelings for my daughter, but don't presume to know anything about me, simply because you and my daughter are close. What kind of father I am does not concern you and whether you choose to believe it or not, everything I do, I do for her." Jack said, more seriously than usual. Jack stood up but before he left, Vaughn spoke up.

"Jack wait. If you really do care about your daughter, than you should stay." he said. Jack turned around and sat down once more. "Sydney and I have maintained contact for the past few weeks. She was supposed to contact me 12 days ago, she didn't. I think something went wrong, I'm sure that if she was okay she would have made it known to me. That's why I called you, I need your help. I don't have the resources I did when I was at the CIA. I need you to help me find her."

"The last I heard, she was in Algeria, a mission to retrieve the missing keys. She told Kendell she wouldn't be able to contact him for some time. Are you sure that she was supposed to contact you?"

"She was supposed to show up at a restaurant, just sit there, and once she showed up I was to be informed. It was simply so that I knew that she was alright. She didn't show up. She contracted three free-lancers, they haven't been able to reach her either. I have a few contacts in Algeria, they've been on the look-out for her. They tell me that there hasn't been any sign of either Sydney or Simon. She's in danger Jack, I know it."

"I believe you. I'll look into it and get back to you as soon as I know anything."

"Thank you." Vaughn watched as Jack stood up and left. He was relieved that Jack believe him, he knew that Jack would find her. He only hoped that they weren't too late.

—In Algeria–

"Simon." she called out. "Simon, can you hear me? Simon?" Calling out for him was now just as difficult as standing up. Her body was so frail and broken. Over the past few weeks they had been starved and beaten, and tortured in many different ways. Simon had been taken out of his cell almost an hour ago, when they returned him he looked dead, but she knew that they wouldn't have brought him back if he was dead.

"I'm here." she heard him say. She closed her eyes in relief, he was the only person that she had now. They had become friends, if you can even call them that, over the several days that they had spent together in opposite cells. Their cells were only separated by a concrete wall, but they would sit in the corner next to the bars and talk to each other every day, and from time to time he would reach his hand out to her and momentarily she would feel safe.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'll be fine. How are you holding up?" he asked. She stayed silent, all he could hear were her sobs. "Hey, it'll be fine. We'll get out of here, I promise."

"I'm so tired." she said as she wiped away her tears. "I don't know how much more I can take. I just want to go home, all I ever wanted was to go home."

She saw his hand reach out of his cell she reached out hers as well. They held each other's hands in silence. It was comforting to her, it made her feel less alone. At least they had someone to share their pain with.


	17. A Savior

A/N: Sorry about the long time it took me to post this up. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. This chapter is the bridge to some new developments in the story so let me know what you think.

Chapter 17: A Savior

"Albert Hyman pays well to make sure that he is protected. He's the man that Sydney was supposed to steal the key from. It's likely that someone gave him the heads up about Sydney. He owns an old abandoned warehouse that he uses for interrogations and things of the sort. It's likely that if he has Sydney, he'll be keeping her there." Jack informed Vaughn.

"What's the game plan?" he asked.

"Surveillance tells me that he doesn't keep more than twelve armed guards. I've already hired a few free-lance agents to accompany us. We'll infiltrate the warehouse and extract Sydney. We'll disarm the guards in the front door first, as quietly as possible. The only entrance is through here, it'll be heavily armed so we can expect to have a difficult time passing through there. Once we get past that it should be a fairly simple extraction. The warehouse isn't big, I have an idea of where they would be keeping her. Once we have her there will be a car waiting for us, they'll take us to a helicopter near by which will take us to a safehouse I have."

"When do we do this?" Vaughn asked.

"Tonight. The plane leaves in two hours to Algeria, we should be there by midnight. It'll be easier to attack at night."

"Good." Every minute that passed by felt like an eternity to him. Having no news from Sydney was a torture. He feared that she was hurt, that she was being tortured or even worse that she was dead. He desperately needed to know how she was. He couldn't sleep at night, he hadn't been able to sleep since she had left for Algeria. Knowing that he was only hours away from finding her gave him peace.

In a warehouse in Algeria-

Jack ran quietly towards the side wall and waited for the other three men to join him. On the other side Vaughn led the other three. They walked quietly towards the front wall holding their guns in position. Jack quickly glanced to see the position of the two guards in the front door and signaled to his men to attack. They had all synchronized their watches and had planned the attack down to the last second. He swiftly left the safety of the wall and faced the guard nearest him, and with one quick move he shot him with his tranquilizer gun, just as Vaughn did the same.

Once the two guards were down Vaughn signaled to Jack that they were ready to enter the warehouse. They quickly and quietly entered and found that the warehouse was not as heavily guarded as they had thought. There were three men sitting at a table reading magazines and drinking coffee, by the time they had noticed the presence of the eight men they had already been shot. They quickly fell to the ground and the eight men continued walking down the hall. They walked down the long hall and stopped in front of a room that would lead them to the holding cells. Jack peered through the small window on the door and suddenly opened his eyes wide in disbelief at the sight of his daughter lying on the floor bruised and broken. He could tell that she was sleeping, either that or she was unconscious. Without any prior thought he quickly opened the door, not expecting to hear the sounds of the alarm that he had tripped.

Sydney awoke at the sounds of the alarm, she looked up to see several men dressed in black wearing ski masks running toward her. The men worked fast at unlocking her cell door. As soon as the door opened a man ran to her side. He picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the cell.

"Simon." she said softly. She had realized that they were only there for her, she couldn't leave Simon behind, not after all they had been through. The man carrying her signaled to the other men and they quickly took Simon out of his cell as well. Sydney used all her strength to look at the face of the man who was carrying her. All she could see was his eyes, because the rest of his face the ski mask covered. She looked at his warm brown eyes and instantly recognized him. It was her father.

"Dad." A great sense of relief came over her as she realized that she was safe, because she knew that her father would protect her. She rested her head on his shoulder and for the first time in days she felt safe and loved. She closed her eyes and rest became a blur. She heard guards yelling followed by gunshots but she continued to rest her head on his shoulders. Perhaps it was because she was too tired and too weak to realize that she was in danger, or perhaps it was because she knew that her father would protect her.

In Jack's safehouse-

Sydney woke up and realized that she was lying down in a comfortable bed. The first thing that she noticed was Vaughn. He was sleeping uncomfortably in the chair beside her. She smiled at the sight of him, it had been the first time she had smiled in two weeks. She continued to lie there watching him, it was peaceful to her.

Vaughn slowly opened his eyes and realized that she was awake and watching him.

"Hey." he said.

"Hey."

"How long have you been awake?"

"Just a little while."

"How do you feel?"

"A lot better now that you're here."

He smiled at her and stood up to sit right next to her. He lightly kissed her forehead and held her in his arms for some time. When he had first seen her last night he had felt his heart break. She seemed so different, nothing like the Sydney he had always seen. Even in her toughest moments she had been strong, last night she was barely alive. She had cuts and bruises all over her face and body. She was thinner than the last time he had seen her and for the first time in his life he hadn't seen the strong Sydney, he had watched as Jack carried a broken Sydney. A Sydney who had spent two of the worst weeks of her life at the hands of torturers. He wished he had been able to help her, to protect her but he had failed her once again.

"I'm sorry." he whispered into her ear. Upon hearing these words, she pulled away from him and looked him in the eye.

"This was not your fault Vaughn. There was nothing you could have done."

"I wish there was something that I could have done."

"Vaughn, you did do something, you gave me the strength to not give up, and you and dad... you saved me."

Vaughn closed the space between them once more and continued to hold her in his arms. "I love you."

"I love you too." she said as she moved her head to kiss him. He kissed her back slowly and softly and she followed his rhythm. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she lied down making sure that he followed her. She unbuttoned his shirt and began to caress his chest and abs.

"I've missed you so much." she whispered in between breaths as his kisses moved down from her mouth to her neck. Just as she began to slowly move her hands down to his pants, the door suddenly opened. Sydney felt the blood rush to her face as she realized that the person who had opened the door was no one other than her father. Jack cleared his throat and pretended like he had seen nothing. Both Sydney and Vaughn quickly sat up.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. We have some things to discuss, whenever you're ready just come outside." He walked out the door and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the door had closed Vaughn and Sydney burst out laughing.

"What a mood killer." Vaughn said.

"Come on, let's go." she said as she tried to hold back her laughter. They stood up and walked outside where Jack sat looking over some files. Sydney walked over to him and hugged him.

"Thank you dad."

"I'm just glad you're alright."

"You said you needed to talk to me." she said as she took the seat next to him, just as Vaughn did the same.

"Last night's extraction was made to look like a personal attack on Hyman, not as an extraction of you and Simon. The covenant was aware that you were being held there, I got my information through a mole that we have set up. He has minimal access but he was able to find out the information that they had on your disappearance."

"If they knew, why didn't they free us?" she asked.

"You're a new agent, you haven't proven yourself to be valuable to them yet. They were keeping an eye on this facility, most likely to find out if you leaked any information to Hyman. The attack last night can't be kept from them."

"What does that mean?" Vaughn asked.

"It means that Sydney has to go back. If you don't go back they'll take this as a betrayal and they will stop at nothing until they find you."

"What am I supposed to do, just waltz in there like nothing happened? As if I didn't spend the worst two weeks of my life when they could have come in and stopped it at any time? Dad if I hated them before getting captured, I absolutely abhor them now. I can't go back there."

"Sydney, listen to me. They believe that you were able to escape during the madness of the attack, they don't know that this was an extraction team sent for you. They don't know that you know who you are or that you're helping the CIA against them. You are our most valuable asset there. With you we can take them down in half the time."

"You want me to be a double agent again? I don't think I can go through that again, not alone, not after all of this." she said as she began to lose her composure.

"Sydney this is all up to you, but think about this rationally. They aren't going to leave you alone, let you go back to your old life. They'll do everything in their power to get to you. If you stay you can help us bring them down. You can get rid of them. Think about it. Think about what your life will be like having to hide all the time, wondering when they'll get to you, to the people you care about." After having spoken the last word, Jack left the room. He knew that his words were manipulative. He wanted nothing more than to have his daughter home, safe, away from all this madness. He couldn't have that though, not as long as the Covenant was still out there.

_Jack walked into the burnt down apartment that had once been his daughter's home. It was nothing like it had been. The walls were black, the furniture was now dust, everything that his daughter owned was gone. As he came in he watched the EMTs carry Will out into the ambulance. His face was dark and although he had inhaled a lot of smoke, he was going to be fine. He continued through what was left of the apartment and spotted Vaughn sitting on the floor. The man was on the verge of a breakdown. He could see it in his face, he had lost hope. Even so Jack couldn't do so. There was no way that his daughter, his strong, smart and beautiful daughter had gone down in flames. She was too stubborn to die that way. There simply was no way that she had died here. _

"_Jack." He heard someone behind him say, it sounded like Director Kendell. Jack turned around to face him and found that he was indeed right._

"_Kendell, any word on Sydney?"_

"_Jack, we found remains... in Sydney's bedroom. As of now, we believe that this may be Sydney." _

"_You don't know that."_

"_Jack, she hasn't contacted us. She's nowhere to be found. If she were alive she would have come to us by now, don't you think."_

"_Until you have proof that that body is the body of my daughter, don't presume her to be dead. You underestimate her and I don't appreciate it." Jack quickly walked past him and left the place without another word. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. He sat quietly in his car thinking about his daughter. Kendell was right about one thing, she would have contacted them by now if she were safe. There must be something preventing her from contacting them. Perhaps she was hurt, unconscious somewhere, perhaps someone had taken her. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had some answers. He turned on the ignition and drove away, he knew what he had to do, and he knew the perfect person to help him do it. _


	18. The Plan

A/N: Here's another update. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 18:The Plan

_He sat at the small coffee shop in Paris, he appeared to be reading a book, his cup of coffee sitting at the table, still untouched. He had already spotted two snipers and five agents that were checking to see if he had been followed. He continued to "read" his book, completely aware of all the activity going around him. From the corner of his eye he watched as the tall brunette wearing a long black coat walked toward him. The closer she got, the more he realized how beautiful she still was. No matter how much time passed, what she did or didn't do, she seemed more beautiful every day. Her hair was just as long as the last time he had seen her. She continued to walk toward him, her hands in her pockets looking down. It was a way of preventing being identified by cameras that weren't exactly there for everyone to see. As the space between them closed, his heart began to beat a little faster. He watched as she quickly sat down in the table next to his. They were sitting backs facing each other, but still they were very close. He continued to hold his book just as he had been doing for the last half hour. After the waitress had taken her order, and brought it back with her, he felt that it was safe to began communications._

"_Irina." _

"_Jack." she repeated in the same tone he had used to acknowledge her presence. It had always seemed amusing to her, his serious composure. She knew him better than all his enemies, than all his friends and his colleagues. Although they all feared him, and that fear had earned him much respect in the spy business, she knew that this man wasn't a man to fear. He wasn't the intimidating man that he appeared to be. Behind his cold-stone face was a warm kind man. He had a reputation of a man to be feared, but the truth was that only those who threatened the people he loved were in any real danger of him. When it came to protecting his family, he was a man that should be feared, a man who would do anything and everything to protect those he loved. He had proven this to her time and time again. When it came to protecting their daughter there was no right or wrong, no moral or immoral, there was only the choice between protecting Sydney and not, the latter being something that he would never do. Not in a million years. _

"_I'm glad you came."_

"_You said it was important."_

"_I don't know how much you know about what's been going on in LA. The CIA has done everything they can to keep this quiet. I imagine you must keep tabs on what goes on, but I thought I should tell you myself."_

"_What is it?" Up until then she had been calm, and open to whatever he could have come here to tell her but his tone, his words, they scared her. What could be so awful that he had to come here and tell her himself. After all meeting her here wasn't just risky for her, he was risking his job and his freedom coming here._

"_The fact that you ask that indicates to me that you don't know. It appears that there was some sort of accident. That's what the CIA is calling it, but I don't believe it. Sydney's apartment was burnt to the ground."_

"_Is she alright." Her heart began beating intensely fast. A million thoughts ran through her head. Was she hurt? Was she okay? Had she been in the apartment when it happened, had she lost someone dear to her? Was she dead? The last thought gave her chills, she couldn't be, not her Sydney._

"_The CIA has officially declared her dead. There was a body found, they couldn't identify it. They ran tests, they said it was a match to Sydney's DNA." The words were hard to speak, he didn't believe them, he couldn't. Irina hadn't said a word in the past few minutes. She hadn't even made a sound, it was as if she had just stopped breathing and moving. "Irina?"_

_She had closed her eyes and tried to hold back her tears, it was proving to be a very difficult task. She continued to breathe in slowly, hoping that it would help her regain her composure. "I'm alright." she was finally able to say. Although she had tried to sound strong, she knew that the crack in her voice hadn't escaped him._

"_Good, because I want you to know that I don't believe it. Not for a second." _

"_You said they identified the body."_

"_It could have been easily planted. The CIA doesn't have the resources I need to look into this matter further, that's why I asked you to meet me."_

"_You want me to investigate what happened?"_

"_Yes. You have connections that the CIA doesn't. I believe that Sydney is alive, but I have no way to prove it. Can you help me?"_

"_You don't even have to ask. She's my daughter too, I'd do anything for her. I'll keep you updated on what I find." _

"_I'll be waiting." He heard her stand up and watched as she walked away. He placed his book on the table and watched as she slowly disappeared into the horizon. After several minutes he stood up and left. _

_-_**In the safehouse**-

"Syd, I don't want you to go back there. It's too dangerous." Vaughn said shortly after Jack had left. She turned to face him, and inhaled deeply.

"It's dangerous if I don't go back. It's dangerous if I stay. This isn't really about what is or isn't dangerous."

"Then what is it about? You're not honestly considering going back to them are you? You're free, for all they know you're dead."

"This is about what is right, I can't just walk away for my own comfort. Think about all the lives that can be saved if we stop them. You and I both know that my father is right, it I stay we have much better chances at taking them down quickly. If I go back home, they'll find out, they will hunt us until they get what they want. I can't have that on my conscience every day. Wondering if today is the day that they get to us, that they hurt you or my father. I just can't."

"I can't lose you again."

"You're not losing me."

"Aren't I? How long before the CIA is able to bring them down? How long do we have to live away from each other, pretend like we don't know about each other? Isn't that a form of losing you, being away from you for who knows how long, never knowing if you're safe or if you're hurt, never knowing when I'll see you again?"

"I understand all of that, but how do you expect us to have any shred of normalcy while we're always looking behind our backs?"

"When has that ever been the case? We've had enemies all along, but it hasn't stopped us from living out lives."

"This is different. The Covenant isn't like our enemies. They have unlimited resources, moles that we don't know about, people who can get close to us and use it without our knowledge."

"Is this about Lauren?"

"No! You're not the only person who was fooled by her. I lived with a stranger pretending to be my best friend for months without ever having any clue. We have to stop this, we have to stop them. They've taken so much from me, I can't just walk away from this."

"Fine, but neither will I."

"Are you out of your mind? You can't just waltz in there, they know who you are. They won't be fooled."

"I'm not talking about working for the covenant. I'm talking about helping you, being involved in this all the way. No staying home and waiting for a call to tell me that you're alive."

"You're insane." She walked over to him and kissed him. She couldn't help but be moved by his concern. It was infuriating but sweet. She hugged him and stood there silently taking it all in. It had finally occurred to her to ask about Simon. "What happened to Simon?"

"He's fine, your father gave him something to sleep, he won't be waking up anytime soon."

"What are we supposed to tell him?"

"You don't have to worry about it. Your father has that covered."

"I'm glad."

"So we're gonna do this?"

"Yeah."

**A few weeks after the fire**-

_Jack walked into the crowded movie theater and found two seats at the back. He took of his coat and placed it in the seat next to his. The movie began soon after. After the first few minutes of the movie, Irina wearing a baseball cap that covered a good deal of her face, sat down next to him. _

_She leaned her face toward him, it would have appeared to anyone else that she was leaning in to kiss him, but in fact she was leaning in to whisper in his ear. "It appears that you were right." _

_His eyes lit up at the sound of those words. "What did you find?"_

"_It appears that a small organization has grown into a real threat without anyone noticing. The Covenant, in alliance with several internationally wanted criminals and terrorist, has been pursuing the same things that both Arvin and I have spent our lives working for."_

"_Rambaldi?" It shouldn't have surprised him, he knew that but it had caught him off guard. He had heard of the Covenant before, but the CIA wasn't aware that their primary goal was to fulfill some Rambaldi prophecy. _

"_I have it on good authority that the Covenant planned on taking Sydney. It seems that they had been watching her for sometime. The Covenant saw the perfect opportunity to abduct her after the fight between her and the woman she thought was her best friend. She was alone, and at the time no one knew about Alison, and she was badly hurt. She couldn't have fought them off. "_

"_Why take her?"_

"_Because Jack, she's been able to recover many of the Rambaldi artifacts, more than anyone else. To the Covenant she is priceless. She can get them in a short amount of time what others have failed to do. More than that, she was mentioned in the prophecy. Unlike what the CIA thought, she is the Chosen One and the Covenant is aware of that fact."_

"_She would never work with them."_

"_You're right. She wouldn't work with them. Which is why the Covenant has spent the last few weeks trying to brainwash her."_

"_It won't work."_

"_It's begun to." _

"_What?" _

"_Sydney has slowly began to believe that she is not Sydney Bristow, that she is an assassin named Julia Thorne."_

"_That can't be. Project Christmas should have prevented this from happening."_

"_Not necessarily. When I stole Project Christmas, we tested it for months. We found that after a prolonged period of time a person could be brainwashed. "_

"_That's not possible."_

"_However, after a period of time the subject became aware of who they were. We monitored them for months after conditioning was successful. They began to have strange dreams, dreams that were in fact memories and slowly the conditioning wore off. Sydney will regain her memory in a span of a few months."_

"_We have to get her out of there."_

"_I don't think that's a wise move."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Like I said before, the Covenant is a real threat. They are far to dangerous. We can't just take her from them."_

"_We can't leave her there either."_

"_You and I both know that she isn't safe either way. She can help us get rid of the Covenant."_

"_She's been brainwashed."_

"_As soon as she realizes the truth she'll contact the CIA, or you. I'm sure of that."_

"_What if she doesn't?"_

"_I'll be keeping an eye on her. I'll make sure that she is safe."_

"_I hope so."_

"_I'll be keeping you informed." She stood up and walked away, hoping that she was right, that what she was doing was the right thing. She wanted nothing more than to help Sydney, but getting her away from the Covenant wouldn't solve her problems. It might even make them worse. _

**Outside the safehouse-**

His phone rang at the exact time that they had agreed upon.

"Jack Bristow." he answered as usual.

"What did she say?" Irina asked on the other line.

"She was hesitant at first but I think I got through to her."

"Good, now we can set our plan in motion."

"We have a few things that we're going to have to work out. As you know Vaughn is involved."

"Do you think he's a problem?"

"No, I think this might work to our advantage."

"Good. I'll keep in touch."

"Be careful."

"You too."

He put his phone back into his pocket and headed back into the safehouse.


End file.
